Tricks with one's mind
by dirksies
Summary: My friend and I go to Hogwarts in a "stundent exchange program". There we help protect Hogwarts from Lord Voldemort. Eww...bad summary, much better story. My first fic! Discontinued
1. Stundent Exchange

This is my first fic. I wrote it started last summer, before the 5th book came out. I hope you like! :)

Disclaimer: All the characters are J.K. Rowling's except myself and my friend and we belong to ourselves. I also made up my school mates.

Title: Tricks with one's mind 

1st chapter: Why us?

In the U.S.A., in a small city in Illinois, I sat at a desk in my junior high. "Please send Hilary Dolch to the office," said the P.A. The class around me saying things like "you're in trouble" and "what did you do?"

What _did_ I do?! I thought as I stood up, left my classroom and headed toward the office.

As soon as I got there, the secretary saying, "The principal will see you now." I walked though the door and saw my principal sitting there, at her desk, looking very confused.

"Here is a letter for you," she said. I took it and on it said _"__Hogwarts__School__ of Witchcraft and Wizardry."_

I gaped at it, and then said, "Is this for real?"

"Yes, it is," said a voice behind me. I turned around and there stood a man with brown hair. He said, "Hello, my name is Remus Lupin."

Remus Lupin? I thought thickly. I then noticed that behind him stood a boy, about my age, with blond hair and blue eyes. It was my childhood crush and good friend, Tyler Faur. (He goes to a different school.) Tyler was wearing an excited look on his face. "Come with me," said Remus. Just like that, we were able to walk out of my school and the two short blocks to my house. Then Lupin opened the side door to my house, and we all trooped in.

"You have a fireplace don't you?" he asked, looking at me. I nodded, numbly, and led the way though the kitchen, dinning room and into the living which held the fireplace. When we got there Lupin took a pouch out of the folds of his robes, muttering something about having our fireplace hooked up to the "network".

"Speak _very_ clearly," he finally said, "This will help you get to Diagon Alley. So, you can get your school supplies. When you get there one of my friends will be there to help you."

My head was whirling, the stuff in the pouch was Floo Powder, I was going to _the _Diagon Alley, I was going to Hogwarts (?). "Wait a minute," I asked, "I not a witch, why am I going to Hogwarts?"

Lupin thought for a minute and said, "You two are kind of like 'exchange students' as for why…. well….. You'll undoubtedly find that out on your own. Are you ready to go?" looking uncomfortable he offered the Floo Powder to Tyler. "Remember speak _very clearly_." he added.

Tyler walked into the fireplace and said, "Diagon Alley." He disappeared in a rush of flames.

"Okay, Hilary, your turn," said Lupin, turning to me and offering the pouch.

I grabbed a handful, went to the fireplace, and said, "Diagon Alley!" FLASH! I was in a merry looking tavern of sorts. I walked out brushing off my jeans and t-shirt, Tyler was right next to me, doing the same thing. Behind him stood three people who looked to be about fifteen, one was a boy with red hair, another was a girl with bushy brown hair, and the last was a boy with black hair and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead.

"Hello, you're the new exchange," said the bushy haired girl.

"You're Hermione Granger," said Tyler.

"And you're Ron Weasley," I said.

"And you're Harry Potter," we both said together, Tyler looked at me and grinned while I smiled, embarrassed. They nodded yes, looking slightly surprised.

"Uh, yeah," said Harry, nervously trying to flatten his bangs, "Lupin sent us," he said you might need some help looking for your stuff." Tyler and I nodded.

"But, wait, we don't have any money," said Tyler.

"Oh, here," said Ron after a nudge from Hermione. Ron gave Tyler and me a small bag. I shook it, opened it, and found it was filled with bronze knuts, silver sikles, and gold galleons.

"Thanks," Tyler and I both said

"Well all we need now are our wands," I said looking though all my different purchases.

"Here's Ollivander's," said Harry, pointing.

"Oh, yeah, the wand shop," said Tyler, as we stood in front of the shop. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all stared at him in an odd way and Tyler began to look uncomfortable.

"Let's go inside," I said, distracting the three older students, Tyler gave me a quick grin, as we all walked into Ollivander's.

"Hello?" I said, looking around a musty old shop.

"Ah the exchange students," said a voice. Tyler and I jumped. A man walked out from the gloom of his shop.

"Hello Mr. Ollivander," said Harry

"Hello Harry, Ron, Hermione," said Mr. Ollivander.

"Hello," Tyler and I said meekly.

"Well, _this_ will be different," Mr. Ollivander, rubbing his hands, "_foreigners_. Well, what are your names?"

"My name is Tyler," said Tyler.

"My name is Hilary," I said.

"Okay, Tyler, I'll do you first." It took about five tries but eventually Tyler got his wand. "Unicorn hair, willow, 12 ½ inches," said Mr. Ollivander, nodding his head, "now you Hilary." This time it took longer, about twenty, but eventually Mr. Ollivander found me the "perfect wand". "Oh, this is a rare specimen, kelpie mane, rowan, 10 ½ inches. And Hilary," the tone of his voice made me look him in the eyes, "I can tell that you will make an impact this year."

When he said that the room was already silent went dead still, everyone was stunned and I my face felt hot. "Uh…. Thank-you," I said as Tyler and I paid for our wands. Then Tyler, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I walked out of the shop.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to Ron's house after our dinner at the Leaky Caldron.

"Good night," said Tyler as we walked up the stairs of the pub, at around nine o'clock at night. Dumbledore had been able to get our rooms there.

"Good night," I replied, as we both walked into our separate rooms.

When I got into my room, I felt a furry thing bump against my legs. I looked down and saw my tabby/tortoise shell kitten twining around them. "Lily, what are you doing here?" I asked her. She looked at me for a moment bounded across the small room and tapped a letter that was sitting on my desk with her paw. I walked over to my desk and saw that the letter was written with a stamp and a return address, but it must have been sent by owl post, I reasoned, as I opened the letter and saw the date at the top. "That's strange," I said to myself. Lily was now sitting on the desk looking patiently at me. I began to read it:

Dear Hilary,

Lily was zooming around the house for you so we sent her to you to come to Hogwarts. I love you. Good luck at Hogwarts. We'll all miss you!

Love,

Mom, Dad, Caroline

Peter , and Amelia

"So looks like you're staying," I said after I finished the letter. I put on my pajamas and I got into bed, I was asleep in a few minutes, Lily feel asleep right by my head.


	2. Wakeup!

Oh, well, no replies yet (sigh)….. Next chapter. I'm debating with myself whether or not this should be my own version of Harry's 6th year or 5th year. Just so everyone is ready for either or change.

Chapter 2: Wake-Up!

"Wake-up," said Tyler at about nine o'clock in the morning. Lily poked her head out of her fur and blinked. I climbed out of bed, gathered all my stuff, and dumped it into my trunk marked H.D.

"Come on Lily, into your crate. I'll let you out on the train. As long as you don't eat anybody else's pet." As Lily walked into her crate, I looked at my watch, and it said nine thirty. I've got an hour and thirty minutes, I thought to myself. I left my room and went down for breakfast.

When I got downstairs, I saw Tyler eating some scrambled eggs and pancakes. "Here," he said as he gestured toward a plate of eggs and pancakes.

I sat down and we ate in silence. Both of us were too excited to talk. Then, when Tyler and I were done, we dashed upstairs to get our trunks and pets. Yesterday, Tyler had gotten a small owl and he had named it "Flavue." The owl was hooting happily as Tyler and I lugged our trunks down the steps. Lily was sitting inside her crate looking as if she were a direct descendant of royalty. She was peering around the Leaky Cauldron as if it were her kingdom.

Tyler and I walked outside and saw a three-deck bus. On its side was written in gold letters "Knight Bus." "Wow," Tyler said.

"Come on," I said after standing a couple of seconds in awe. Tyler and I walked up to the bus door carrying our luggage along with us.

Then a voice came out from the Knight Bus. "Dumblydor told us fat fere would be some students that needed a lift. Me name's Stan Shunpike," said a man with a bunch of spaces between his teeth and messy brown hair as he stepped out of the bus. "It'll be five sickles," he said, putting his hand out. Tyler and I both paid him, and Stan helped us get our luggage onto the bus.

"King's Cross Station, please," I said as Tyler and I sat down on our seats behind the bus driver.

"Right," said Stan. Then "BANG!" the seats slid backwards a couple of feet and Tyler and I were thrown back into our seats. "Well, 'ere ve are," said Stan after he had regained his composure. Stan helped Tyler and me get our luggage out of the bus and get some trolleys.

I looked at my watch and it was 10:55. "We've got to hurry," I said. Tyler and I rushed toward platforms 9 and 10. When we got there, we saw Harry, Ron and Hermione getting ready to get onto the platform.

"Wait," Tyler and I said. Harry, Ron and Hermione turned around and grinned.

"Hi," said Harry.

"Come on," said Hermione anxiously.

"Okay, let's go," I said. Harry, Ron and I got into a group, and Tyler and Hermione got into one. We zoomed into the seemingly solid pillar and ended up on platform 9 ¾.

"Let's get on the train," said Ron. We got our luggage off the trolleys and onto the train just as the conductor was saying "All aboard."

"Can we sit with you guys?" I asked once Harry, Ron and Hermione had found an empty compartment.

"Sure," said Hermione, the other two nodding their heads. We filed into the compartment, put our luggage on the racks and closed the door. Lily was beginning to whine inside her crate, so I let her out. Hermione was also letting Crookshanks out. Crookshanks was about twice the size of Lily, so it was a sight. After the two cats had smelled each other, they chose separate ends of the compartment, Lily in my lap and Crookshanks in the extra seat.

Once we were all settled, Harry, Ron and Hermione began to fill us in on things you needed to know about Hogwarts, saying things like "Never get in the way of Filch" or "Quidditch is the best." Hermione asked, "What year are you going to be in?"

"Third year, I think," I said.

"Oh, we're going to be in sixth year," said Hermione.

"How are you going to be sorted?" Ron asked. Tyler and I looked at each other.

"I don't know," I replied. Just then the snack trolley came by, and each of us got a small pile of snacks. While we were getting our snacks, Lily got into her crate in search of a quieter place to rest.

When the cart left, we heard a drawling voice. "Oh, here's Potter fraternizing with the Muggles."

"Draco," said Harry. Harry, Ron and Hermione were frowning. We turned our heads and saw a boy with white blond hair and two other boys who looked like bodyguards standing in our door.

"This is _unbelievable_. First, mudbloods and now Muggles," said Draco with a sneer.

"I'm not a Muggle," I said glaring at Malfoy.

"Then how come you weren't accepted at a wizarding school in your own country?" said Draco with a look of triumph on his face.

"I…I," I stuttered as I thought of a comeback.

"Well, she got accepted at this school," said Hermione coming to my rescue.

"Fine, if you're so good," Draco said looking at me again. "Why don't we have a little duel?"

"Duel, are you trying to hide behind your wand?" I said without thinking. Then I felt my eyes get wide when I realized my mistake.

"Hide behind my wand? Oh, you little…Tarantallegra" said Malfoy, pointing his wand at me. Realizing Malfoy was going to jinx me, I squeezed my eyes shut and got ready for impact.

Okay, that's it for now. I'll post later. : D


	3. Branitonios

I forgot the Disclaimer last time, so this will be for both….

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling except for me, my friend, and the characters I made up.

Chapter 3: Branitonios

But, it never came. After a couple seconds of silence, I opened my eyes and saw that Malfoy's legs were twitching independently of his body. Malfoy swore at a one particularly violent lurch. The weird thing was, was that Harry, Ron, Tyler, and Hermione's wands weren't out and there wasn't a scratch on me. Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other thickly then picked up Malfoy and scurried away.

Hermione stood up, closed the compartment door, then turned around, and looked at me. "Were you scared?" she asked, looking at me, not in an awe sounding voice, but more of an inquiring voice.

"Kind of, but I felt more determined not to get hurt then scared." I said, looking around at everyone.

"Then what was that, Spells that happen with out a wand only happen when a person is anger or scared." Said Ron, jaw dropped. Harry, nodding his in the background, Tyler, stunned about what I had just done.

"I've read something about this, it's called Branitonios," said Hermione, thoughtful.

"What's that?" said Harry, extremely confused. Now, I was slightly puzzled.

"It means," said Hermione, with a sigh, "'able to control things with one's mind.' I read a little about them when I learned I was a witch. I was trying to figure out all the different branches of magic."

"You read _all_ the branches of magic! There must be _hundreds_ of branches," said Tyler, awestruck, "You must have read _a lot_!" Hermione blushed and Ron smacked his head as if to say "duh".

"I've heard of those," said Harry, comprehension dawning on his face, "They're really rare."

"What else can you do?" asked Ron.

I shrugged, but maybe….. That one time I went bowling, I pointed my finger at the ball and wiggled it so it would be dead center instead of off to one side. That time, I had just thought it a coincidence, but now…. "I might be able to lift objects with my mind," I said.

"Oh yeah, levitation," said Hermione, nodding.

"Can I have something to try to levitate?" I asked, now eager. We all thought for a moment,

Then Harry, looking down at his at his wrist said, "Here." He took off his watch and handed it to me.

"Thanks," I said looking at Harry, he nodded.

I put it on my lap, not really knowing what to do, and stared at the watch. I stared at it so hard that everything, except the watch, went fuzzy. I was focusing my whole mind on levitating that watch. Then, suddenly, it gave a shudder and began to rise up into the air. The compartment was silent. I thought, _do a flip_. The watch did a slow flip in the air and went back to floating in the air. _Now come back down_, I thought, and the watch floated slowly to my lap.

"Wow," said Ron and Tyler in unison.

"I didn't know I could do that!" I said, rubbing my eyes, I hadn't blinked at all while I was levitating the watch. "Here," I said giving Harry back the watch.

"That was cool," he said looking at me. I smiled, and blushed a little.

"I think there is one more thing you can do," said Hermione.

"What else can I do?" I asked, looking at her.

"E.S.P., at least that's what muggles call it," she said, "It means you can send messages with your mind."

"I've heard of that," said Tyler, I nodded.

"Me too." I agreed.

"Try to do it, "said Ron, looking at me eagerly.

"Okay," I said as I closed my eyes. "Wait," I said opening them again, "who should I send it to?"

"Send it to me," Harry said after a minute or two of us looking at each other.

"Okay," I said again, closing my eyes. _What should my message be_? I thought. _I've got it! Okay, here goes. Harry Potter_, I thought, thinking of Harry, _I like your owl, Hedwig. She is really pretty. From Hilary. Send._ I opened my eyes, "Did you get my message?"

"Yeah," said Harry, looking at me, and then looking up at the luggage rack at his snowy owl. "How did you know her name was Hedwig, I never told you?"

"Can you read minds too?" asked Ron.

"No," said Hermione, "Branitonioses can't read minds." The compartment was staring at me now.

I swallowed then said, "I think Tyler and I have some filling in to do too." Then Tyler and I began to tell Harry, Ron, and Hermione about J.K. Rowling, the author of these books, how everything so far that she had written about Harry's world had been true, and how we knew so much. "So that's all I think," I said after I was done.

"Yep, I think so," said Tyler. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting in there seats with there jaws open.

"Wow," said the three at the same time.

"Oh," said Hermione, looking, down at her watch, "we've got to get our robes on." Quickly, we all pulled on our robes just as the train was pulling to a halt.

please can have some reviews! I'm on my knees! : (


	4. Home at Last

I think I hear the Hallelujah chorus! I got 3 whole reviews! Does a dance, badly.

**Jadestar123: **Thank- you for reviewing and thanks for the tips. You have no idea how special you made me feel.

Chapter 4: Home at Last

We pulled our luggage and pets off the racks and headed out theof our compartment, to exit the train.

When we got off, we dumped our stuff with the other luggage and said good-bye to our pets. "Bye Lily, I'll see you in Hogwarts." I murmured to my cat the bars, brushing my fingers against her white chest.

Then Tyler and I joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione in waiting for a carriage. A horseless carriage jerked forward and Harry grimaced at the space in front of the carriage. I knew he was looking at a therestal. We scrambled into the coach and it lurched forward as it set off for Hogwarts.

When we got out of the carriage, Tyler and I noticed a short flight of stairs leading up to a gigantic castle. And it was a castle. Castle are pretty rare in the U.S. and I had never to been to Europe so this was my first castle.

This was a huge castle, defiantly bigger then my old school.

We all headed up the stone steps of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "I'm finally home, home at last." I heard Harry sigh from behind me.

"Hilary Dolch and Tyler Faur, please come with me," said a witch with a stern almost formidable look on her face.

"Uh….," I said looking at the three older students. Hermione nodded her head at me and mouthed, "Go on." Tyler looked at each other and reluctantly followed the witch.

We headed a stone staircase and climbed it for to flights, and then entered a hallway. We walked down the hallway lined with doors for awhile, Tyler and I glancing at each other. How would we ever find our way to class? Hanging a left at the fork we came to, we entered a new, shorter hall with a few portraits and door. The witch opened the door, and Tyler and I filed in to the room. It was completely empty expct for two chairs.

"Sit down, please," said the witch. "My name is Professor McGonagall. You two are exchange students from America. You are going to be entering your third year and you also get to take extra subjects. Please pick which ones you want. I will be back." She handed us some papers then left the room. I looked Tyler with my eyebrows raised. He shrugged and we both looked over our papers.

"Look at the subjects you can take," said Tyler.

"Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Airthmancy, Ancient Runes,……" my voice began to trail off as I scanned my eyes down the list. "I think I'll take these two." I finally said, as I checked Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. Tyler leaned over and looked at my paper and marked the same things.

I looked at Tyler, questionably, he looked at me and grinned. I looked away, embarrassed, as Professor McGonagall walked in through the door, holding a matted, old wizard hat. "The Sorting Hat," I said gasping. McGonagall looked at me hard for a minute, then, seeming to decide on something, said, "Yes, this is the Sorting Hat."

She pointed her wand at thin air and muttered a few words. A wooden stool magically appeared where her wand was pointing. She placed the hat on top and said, "Miss Dolch, you may go first."

I walked up to the stool, picked up the hat, sat down and then put on the hat. _"Ah….," _said a voice in my head, the Sorting Hat,_ "a challenge. Let me see………defiantly no Slytherin……. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw……you would do well in each…… no wait…. I see pureness…. Very _fine_ pureness, you are willingly to help and heal……and you also have a strong sense of right and wrong……"_

_"Please Gryffindor,"_ I thought.

_"Oh, **Gryffindor**."_ Said the hat, "_I see, well, okay….._ **Gryffindor**!" Ityelled.

_"Yes!"_ I thought in my head as I took off the Hat and put it on the stool. Professor McGonagall was trying to suppress a smile but was failing and Tyler was smiling broadly.

"Mr. Faur, your turn." Tyler nodded and walked up to the stool. He put on the hat and sat down.

It took a couple of minutes of complete silence but eventually the hat shouted, "Gryffindor!"

"Good Job!" I said, giving Tyler a high five.

Professor McGonagall wasn't even trying to hide her smile this time. "Excellent!" She said, "I will go get you your dinner…" as she walked out of the room.

_"Wow,"_ I thought sitting in my chair, grinning at Tyler, _"I'm in Gryffindor."_


	5. Fiddle Faddle

Thank- you to everyone who has reviewed!

**Sami**: Thanks for being a good friend and thanks for reviewing my story!

**Jadestar123**: Thank-you for being such a faithful reviewer. Post your story soon!

As you can see I'm very happy!!!! Well, time for stories! (I like exclamation points!!!!)

* * *

Chapter 5- Fiddle Faddle

Once we were done with our dinner, McGonagall asked, "Any questions?"

"Yes," I said, "what's our 'excuse' for being here?" I continued on quickly, "I mean, if my parents say to someone, 'Oh, yes, Hilary's at Hogwarts,' no one will believe them."

"Ah, yes, your 'excuse' being here is, is that 'You two are at an acting school in a prestigious England,'" she said with a small smile. Tyler and I looked at each other again, grinning, for we both were thinking about acting for a job.

"What about Hogsmeade?" inquired Tyler, I looked at the witch.

"We have had that arranged, your parents said you may visit Hogsmeade." She said, "If that is all of your questions, please follow me to the Gryffindor common room." We shook are heads "No" to her question about more questions and she briskly nodded her head. Professor McGonagall than stood up in a huge sweeping motion of her robes and opening the door, leading us out of the room. We followed her out the door like ducklings, down the drafty Hogwarts halls.

* * *

We came to a short, large hallway with a portrait of a, uh, '_well fed' _noble lady in a pick dress. The lady looked expectantly at Professor Mcgonagall. The witch said, "Fiddle faddle." The woman in the nodded her head solemnly and the picture swung forward. We walked into the Gryffindor common room.

"The girls are on the left, boys are on the right," said the Professor, nodding to the nearly empty common room, and, turning on her heal, left the room.

"Hilary, Tyler," said a voice. Tyler and I looked near the fire place and saw Hermione, Ron, and, Harry. "Come here," Hermione said motioning to two unoccupied chairs near by, so Tyler and I both took a seat. "Well, at least we know you guys are in Gryffindor," said Hermione grinning.

"Which extra classes are you taking?" asked Harry, Ron seemed to be falling asleep in his chair, filled with the Opening Feast.

"Um, Care of Magical Creatures and…..," said Tyler, thinking of the other extra class.

"And Divination," I said coming to Tyler's rescue; he nodded his thanks, getting tired himself.

"Great choices," said Harry, looking at Hermione nervous. Hermione looked at Harry and sighed as Ron nodded slowly, yawning.

"I think it's time to go to bed," said Hermione, watching Ron yawn. Ron nodded again, to tired to argue, and slowly walked up the stairs to the Boy's Dormitory. Harry and Tyler quickly followed suit. Hermione looked at me with her eyebrows raised and I nodded. We walked up the stairs of the Girl's Dormitory and to bed.

* * *

"Here is your dorm," said Hermione, pointing to a door.

"Good night, Hermione," I mumbled and, pushing the door open, walked into the room.

In the dorm there were four beds, all of them except for one had their hangings open. When I entered the room, I saw was a girl with blond hair and hazel eyes, modeling in front of a full length mirror. There was also another girl with black hair and blue eyes, waiting for her turn in front of the mirror. Both girls were wearing outrageously large hats that flopped over on the top. They were obviously in the middle of a conversation because one girl in front of the mirror was saying, "Don't you just _love_ Madame Malkins new hat line? I think they are to _d-i-e_ for." She said spelling 'die' and striking a dramatic pose. Her friend nodded her head vigorously (I was surprised her hat didn't fall off.) and turned because she had heard a strangled 'meow' of delight. I had too. I looked down and saw Lily looking at me, with her hazel eyes.

The two girls were staring at me. "Oh, _you're_ the American," said the girl in front of the mirror. "My name is Lucy Maple, and this," said the girl in front of the mirror pointing to the other girl, "is Tori Baates."

I nodded and said, "My name is Hilary Dolch." While I had been listening to Lucy I noticed something that I hadn't noticed before, Tori seemed to **worship** Lucy.

"That's your bed," said Lucy, pointing at a bed while striking a final pose and moving over so Tori could have a turn in front of the mirror. Lucy had pointed at the bed on the on the center left.

I walked over and put Lily down on my new bed. I felt curious so I poked my head into my neighbor' closed hangings. On the bed was a girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She was reading, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. "Oh," she said, startled.

"Uh," I said, started myself at her outburst. "My name is Hilary Dolch."

"My name is Rachel Cloney." She said in a light voice. She seemed to be thinking before she spoke.

"Um, well, good night," I said and then withdrew my head. I scanned my room. I noticed Lily was sitting on my pillow and that neither Lucy nor Tori had noticed my brief interaction with the other occupant of the room. I sighed and walked over to my bed, dug my pajamas out of my trunk, and put them on. I shoved Lily off of my pillow, and tumbled into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Okay, that's it for now! Please review!!


	6. Breakfast and Beyond

Well, this is the next chapter of my story, hope you like! Thank-you jadestar and sami, my only devoted reviewers, this chapter wouldn't have been up if it weren't for you guys!

* * *

Chapter 6: Breakfast and Beyond

"Do you think we should wake her up?" I heard, the voice floating threw my head.

_Are__ the talking about me?_ I wondered, slowly waking up. I then shot straight up in my bed. "What time is it? I muttered, still half asleep, peering though slitted eyes.

"7 o'clock," said the voice I now knew to belong to Lucy.

"Isn't breakfast at 8:00?" I asked, a little more awake.

"It is, but we need time to get ready," said Tori.

_Might as well,_ I thought. So I stood up, put my cold feet on the ground and went to the bathroom to take a shower. I took a quick three minute shower , then grabbed a towel off the rack, wrapping it around my body, and walked out of the bathroom. I put on my school robes, shoved my books into my bag, and hauled it onto my shoulder. I then did a quick sweep of the, fondled Lily's ears, and went out the door.

At the bottom of the steps, I saw Tyler and Hermione waiting for me. "Where are Ron and Harry?" I queried.

"They're not awake yet," said Tyler, impishly.

"Should we wait for them?"

"No, they know there way to the Great Hall," said Hermione, looking up the boy's dormitory stairs, then looking at Tyler and me. "You don't."

So we followed the sixth year threw the portrait hole and down a corridor. Then into a secret passage way behind a tapestries that held a knight fighting a dragon. We climbed down the stairs and ended up in a passage not far from the Entrance Hall. We strode down that corridor, across the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall.

I had walked into a massive hall; it was about the size of a basketball court! Hermione lead Tyler and I to the Gryffindor table. We sat on one of the side of the table and Hermione sat on the other. Breakfast was displayed as: scrambled eggs and bagels on the table along with a large variety of fruits and juices. I scooped up a small mound of eggs on my plate. I gave it a dash of salt and pepper and dug in. Harry and Ron came in a minute later. Harry's hair was, if possible, messier then usual, and Ron's was damp, apparently he had tried to tame it. They both skidded into spots on either side of Hermione and sat down. Hermione was calmly nibbling a piece of toast. Harry and Ron made their selections and dug in with vigor.

"You'd think they hadn't seen food in days," I muttered to no one in particular. Tyler grinned and Hermione snorted into her pumpkin juice.

Ron looked up and blushed but then said, "Hey, breakfast _is_ the most important meal of the day." Harry nodded earnestly as he chewed his eggs. I giggled and returned my attention to my eggs. I finished them and poured myself a goblet of apple juice, taking a sip of it and sighing.

Professor McGonagall had been walking down, along the Gryffindor and handed us our schedules. "Thank-you," I murmured, glancing at the schedule. She nodded in reply.

I looked at it for a second time and saw that today I had Care of Magical Creatures first today, then Herbology, and then Defense against the Dark Arts. That reminded me of something. "Who is the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher this year?" I asked Hermione. (Ron and Harry's mouth was full.)

"Here name is Professor Tharanld," said Hermione. "She used to be a muggle school teacher but she really is a witch, she just always wanted to be a teacher." I nodded, _Okay, I_ guess _that makes sense._

"My mum mentioned her once," said Ron who had been listening. "She said that Professor Tharanld was one of the best muggle teachers in England. She had been planning to retire but Dumbledore asked her if she wanted the job."

"How do you know so much about her?" asked Hermione, looking at Ron.

Ron shrugged."My mum read an article about her in the 'Daily Prophet'." Hermione raised her eyebrows in an expression that clearly said, "Oh". I tapped Tyler, who had listening. We were both finished with our breakfasts.

"Let's go to class." I said, standing. He nodded eagerly and we stood up.

"See you guys around," he said to the three older students who were now thinking about going to their classes.

Tyler and I walked out into the Entrance Hall. Its doors were wide open to tempt any breeze that might come by. We walked out the doors and onto the castle grounds. The ground was sprinkled with dew so it shined in the early morning light. I took a deep breath and could almost taste the slight crisp in the air. Tyler hummed a part of a song as we walked down the lawn to Hagrid's hut, where already two small crowds were gathered. I recognized Tori, Lucy, and Rachel, my dorm mates. I noticed some boys in Gryffindor school robes, Tyler's room mates. I made a mental note to ask Tyler who they were. I looked over to the other clump and saw two Slytherin girls, one with black hair and the other with brown, surrounded by Slytherin boys. I was wary of them so I went over to the Gryffindor group. But the two girls saw Tyler and me.

"Oh muggles," one of them called, as if I were a dog. I got tense but didn't turn around._Stay__ calm_, I thought.

"Muggles," cawed the other one.

"Don't Hilary," Tyler muttered into my ear. _Yeah, clam down!_ I scolded myself, breathing deeply. I felt a tap on my shoulder and whipped around, there stood one of the Slytherin girls.

Now that I saw her up close, I could tell that she was a beauty, with raven-black hair and sapphire eyes. She had a small delicate nose and high cheekbones. The girl grinned at me, showing perfect straight teeth. I gave a mental grimace, feeling my braces on my definitely not perfect teeth.

"Muggle," she demanded of me.

"I have a name, you know," I told her, keeping a tight rein on my temper. She raised her eyebrows in an unspoken question.

"Oh really," she said sarcastically.

"Really, really," I replied just as sarcastically.

"I know what it is!" said a Slytherin boy, whom I later learned was not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, if you know what I mean. "I bet it is Mug El."

I arched an eyebrow of my own. That was the worst comeback I had ever heard. He even put my littlest sister to shame, and that was saying something.

"Boy," I said, looking at the moron in green. "You need some serious 'comeback lessons.' Come see me when your brain gets rewired. And no," I said, turning to the Slytherin girl, "my name is not Mug El. My name is Hilary, Hilary Dolch….Great," I said when I peeked around the crowd and saw the patiently waiting Hagrid. "Now that introductions are done, I believe it's time for class." I nodded my head to where the Care of Magical Creatures teacher stood, and the Slytherin girl whipped her head around.

She obviously saw the half-giant thumping his foot on the ground, because she whipped back around and muttered, "This isn't over, _Hilary_!" She said my name as if it were poison, and marched off.

"Okay," said Hagrid once everyone was settled. "I 'ave 'ere a special surprise fer you today." He nodded and said for everyone to follow him as he led his way around the Forbidden Forest. I swallowed. Last time Hagrid had said something like that, Malfoy's arm had gotten savaged, not that that was a bad thing, I reminded myself. I pushed that thought away, and found that Rachel was walking next to me.

"Oh," I said, casting my mind for a topic of conversation.

"That was really brave what you did," she murmered.

"No, it wasn't,"

"Yes, it was.That girl is mean to everyone, even some of the Slytherins."

"Who is she, anyway," I queried, curious.

"Her name is Kelsey Schace. She is a pure-blood to the bone. That's why I don't understand why she can be so rotten." I giggled at the pun and she grinned. I had a hunch nobody had laughed at her jokes for a while. "Her crony," Rachel continued, "the one with the brown hair, her name is Sadie Lionee. She's not pure-blood, but she's just as rotten."

I looked at Sadie; all I could see of her was her shoulder-length brown hair swinging back and forth as she walked until she turned around and sneered at me. She had cold hazel eyes and a snub nose. She turned back around, her hair whirling. Sadie was a beauty, too, but did not hold a candle to Kelsey's radiance. I sighed. I did not hold a candle to _either_ of them.

We reached a sizable pen that was under a giant oak tree. The whole class surrounded the pen. I looked in and saw what looked to be a litter of Jack Russell terriers, and young ones at that. They had button-black eyes, pointy little ears and white fur. Some had little brown eye patches. Others were just lightly speckled on the face.

_They can't be Jack Russell terriers_, I thought. _This is _Care_ of Magical Creatures_. Then something tickled my mind. _Wait a minute, that one book I... Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, It described something like this...I know what these are..._

"Does anyone know what these creatures are," Hagrid bellowed over the quiet mutter of conversation. I waited a couple of seconds. It looked like no one else knew. I slowly raised my hand. He looked at me.

"Sorry, I don' know yer name," he said in his gruff voice.

"It's 'Hilary'," I said. "Those are crufs, wizard-bred dogs that are vicious toward Muggles and have forked tails. But these don't have forked tails," I added, picking up the nearest puppy who instantly began to lick my face.

"These aren't pure crufs," said Hagrid. "The other half is Jack Russell Terrier." I nodded my head and scratched the puppy behind the ear.

"It's not as ferocious toward Muggles and it don't have a forked tail. Your job is to raise, feed and train these crufs. It will be yer main project for this term. When they get older, the Ministry will find good homes for them." I put the puppy down as Hagrid paused and a small buzz of conversation came to life. "Now get into groups of two or three and pick a puppy."

Tyler, Rachel, and I looked at each other. "Well?" I said raising my eyebrows. Tyler nodded and Rachel nodded also, but slower than Tyler. We looked back at the pen. I saw the puppy I had held earlier and picked it up. It, again, proceeded to lick my face. I giggled and passed the puppy too Tyler, who, after a few minutes of cleaning, passed it to Rachel. Rachel cuddled the puppy, it was finally calmer.

"I wonder what sex it is." Rachel murmured to herself. "Does anyone know how to check?" she asked our small group.

I nodded and Rachel gave the puppy. I flipped it over on its stomach and, yep, it was defiantly a boy. Hagrid had been going around to the different groups, handing out different colored strings. I took a crinkled blue one and tied it around the puppy's neck.

"What should we call it?" I asked.

"How about Bennie?" asked Tyler, cocking head at the half cruf.

"Um…," said Rachel, thinking, "how about Amero?" she said after a moment.

"I like it." I said. "What do you think?" I asked the puppy. It yipped joyfully and tried to lick my chin. All of us laughed.

"Amero it is," said Tyler, scratching the puppy behind the ear.

* * *

Thank-you for reading.....please review!


	7. Professor Tharanld

Hi! This is the last of my Christmas set, but don't worry, I'll keep updating for the rest off my break. Thank-you to Sami and jadestar for giving me reviews. Here it comes……..

Disclaimer: This_ story _is mine but not the characters.

* * *

Chapter Seven: Professor Tharanld

"Hilary Dolch," said the teacher at the front of the room.

"Here," I replied. I listened as she said the name of the next student then began to zone out.

I was in Defense against the Dark Arts at the end of the day. I had already had Herbology and lunch. And, at present, was now sitting in the middle of a classroom with the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher standing in the front. Tyler was sitting on my left and Rachel was on my right.

"Tyler Faur," said the professor.

"Here," said Tyler, quickly glancing up at the teacher then letting his eyes wander again.

I looked at the pictures on the walls of the classroom. Each picture had a name of a battle scrawled across the bottom. It even had some battles I had never heard about. The pictures held people reliving their deaths over and over. It was violent to say the least. I then realized that all the pictures were silent.

The teacher called another name as I quickly looked away from the pictures on the wall. I had my eyes examine my desk as my thoughts wandered. The calling of that name had reminded me of something, I don't think I had ever heard a teacher at Hogwarts call attendance. They all seemed to just _know_ which students were there or not. Maybe it was just an old muggle school habit.

I looked up at the teacher and watched her call off the last couple names. She had black hair that was speckled with gray hair. Her eyes were a dark brown, so dark they almost looked black, but they weren't cruel eyes, not in the least. Her lips were full and a light red. _What was her name?_ I wondered, as my eyes moseyed over to the chalk board. _Ah, Professor Tharanld,_ as I saw her name written carefully on the board.

"Welcome class, to the first Defense against the Dark Arts class of the year," said Professor Tharanld in a voice that was so musical that I thought for a moment that she might beak out into song. I sat back and got comfortable, even of the class was interesting, the first day speech was usually pretty dully. This looked like just that. "In this class you will learn battle tactics, more specifically speaking over distances, the basics of healing, and what spells work well together. Many of you may question why I am doing this, but Dumbledore has requested that I teach you these things. For, as many of you know, the Dark Lord risen and we must prepare ourselves for the inevitable upcoming battle. We must find our personal strengths and improve them, broaden them, and strengthen them." This speech was anything but boring. I felt a sense of, I don't know, joy (?), pride (?), surge through me. It encouraged me to go out and do it, whatever _it_ was.

I then snapped out of my dream world. I leaned forward a little and turned my head slightly to the right to look at the Slytherins at the other side of the room. Kelsey was there, with a bored expression on her face but I looked closer at her eyes, they were excited, as excited as I felt. _Hmm, she's an actor, _I thought as I turned to Sadie. Sadie, on the other hand wasn't even _trying_ to hide her excited look. No wonder Professor Tharanld had been a teacher for so long; it seems as if she could get anyone to listen to her.

I turned my attention back to her and caught the last of her speech. "This quarter, we are going to focus on finding. It shouldn't be difficult for I know many of you know what your strengths are." Then the bell rang. _Where had the time gone?_ I wondered. "For homework, please provide a short list of your strengths, or what you think they might be. Look inside yourself, but don't look too hard, for sometimes your mightiest strengths are right under your nose."

The class filed out of the room. "Hilary Dolch," said the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. "May I have a word with you?" I nodded. _Why?_ I wondered, as I let Tyler and Rachel go past me. I walked up to the front of the room, very confused. When I reached her desk, Professor Tharanld put down the papers she had been reading, looked at me, and said, "I had been talking about strengths and you, Hilary, have a very unusual strength. I'm sure you already know of it?"

"Yes, I'm a Branitonios," I said looking at her and meeting those black eyes. She kept looking at me sternly then smiled.

"So am I. Look," She pointed her finger at something behind me. I turned around and saw a quill floating on its on accord.

"So…," I began.

"Yes, I'm going to teach you. _To show you all that your powers can do,"_ The last part I _heard_, but her lips didn't move. I opened my mouth to say something but she put her hand over her own mouth, signaling me to be quiet. "Shush, think it to me."

I was confused for a moment but then thought, _When do I start?_

The Defense against the Dark Arts teacher grinned, "Hoe about on Friday after lessons are done?" she said. I nodded and walked out of the room, picking up my books on the way out.

* * *

"She talks a lot," commented Rachel, whom was sitting with Tyler and me for dinner.

"She does," I agreed, "but I _want_ to hear what she has to say. I mean, it's not like it's annoying, and she seems to like everybody." Rachel was a lot chattier around people she knew, I had discovered that day. Tyler, Rachel, and I were silent for a couple minutes, contemplating, focusing on our dinner.

"That was some first day, huh?" said Tyler. The silence was broken and we began to rattle off our favorite parts of the first day at Hogwarts.

* * *

Rachel helped Tyler and me find our way back to the common room. The password was given and my group of friends marched inside. The Gryffindor common room was clogged with a lot of people who's attention was focused on the message board.

"What is it?" I asked someone near me.

"They are looking for new Quidditch team members and a new commentator. Tryouts for both are this weekend," replied the second year who replied.

"Oh, thank-you," I said. _Sounds like fun, _I thought

"Come-on let's do our homework," said Rachel, tugging Tyler and I over to the corner. We grabbed our books and began to work on our homework. I went to bed an hour and a half later.

* * *

If the chapter seems a) short or b) rocky, then you would be correct! I'm kinda having writer's block with this story so…..yeah….

Please review!


End file.
